A new coalition government in Ireland is unlikely to be established before Christmas, according to the deputy leader of Fianna Fáil, reports Breaking News.
The Minister for Finance, Jack Chambers, stated that the parties involved in discussions about forming a new government require “time and space” to ensure the future administration will be “coherent and stable.”
With only a limited number of the Dáil parliament’s 174 seats yet to be determined after nearly three days of vote counting, it is clear that Fianna Fáil has emerged as the dominant party in Friday’s general election, resulting in the highest number of TDs.
The likelihood of a return to a government comprising both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael looks promising, reports Breaking News.
Although Sinn Féin and Fine Gael may each secure a comparable number of seats, Fianna Fáil clearly prefers to renew its coalition with Fine Gael rather than breaking its long-held commitment to avoid governing alongside Sinn Féin.
If Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael assume power again, they will likely fall just short of the 88 seats needed for a majority in the Dáil, reports Breaking News.
Therefore, they will either need to bring one of the smaller parties into the coalition as a junior partner or win the support of several independent TDs.
While the Social Democrats and Labour Party seem to be the most viable options for junior partnerships, both of these centre-left parties are approaching the idea of an alliance with the two larger centre-right parties with caution.
Following the inconclusive results of the 2020 election, it took five months for Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and the Greens to reach their last coalition agreement, reports Breaking News.
Mr. Chambers expressed confidence that this time around, the process would not take as long, noting that the Covid-19 pandemic had influenced the duration in 2020, however, he emphasized it wouldn’t be a quick resolution.
He concurred with the assessment that there is no chance of a deal being reached before Christmas.
“I don’t expect a government to be formed in mid-December, when the Dail is due to meet on the 18th of December, probably a Ceann Comhairle (speaker) can be elected, and there’ll have to be time and space taken to make sure we can form a coherent, stable government,” he told RTÉ, reports Breaking News.
“I don’t think it should take five months like it did the last time – Covid obviously complicated that. But I think all political parties need to take the time to see what’s possible and try and form a stable government for the Irish people,” reports Breaking News.
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